Looking through the top ten of The Futurist from the World Future Society, there was a future outlook that I seen that really caught my eye. The number 10 on the list "We may not be able to move mountains with our minds, but robots will await our mental commands", where students at Northeastern University has successfully used brain signals to control a robot. I see this prediction as a good way for a lot of uses in the real world. Using this technology to help people with limitations can be a benefit to the future. To give some examples of the use, the university is going to be researching how they can successfully use brain input to control an artificial limb that uses just retina placement to pick up items, range of motion or to complete their normal functions that they do everyday.
There are some things that I think could affect the success of implementation. The cost of the limb could be a factor.How much would something like this cost to the general Public? The other contributing factor is what is needed to make something like this work? The hardware and software needed to move the limb to the appropriate location intended. I think once these answers have been addressed, the general public can move forward and utilize the advancements in this technology.
After reading this futurist forecast, I remember a discussion with a fellow colleague from the other day. We discussed how a person with limited disabilities can benefit in this situation. It is not just moving a limb in real life per say. I am going deeper as in retina movement and allowing handicapped people with no movement or confined to chairs to be able to move and being free again. Using a game based system like these at MMORPG , to allow people in these situation to walk, talk, fly and do other things which they are not able to do in real life.
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